April 30, 2014: The Project CBD Special Report, “Hemp Oil Hustlers,” is back in the news again thanks to the latest attempt by Medical Marijuana Inc. (MJNA) to deceive its shareholders and the general public.

Published in the Fall of 2014, “Hemp Oil Hustlers” documented Medical Marijuana Inc.’s questionable financial practices and the presence of toxic solvent residues in two of their products samples.

Let us state unequivocally: Project CBD stands 100 percent behind its Report. Medical Marijuana Inc. has been unable to refute a single statement.

Unable to challenge the Report on its merits, MJNA has instead embarked on a campaign of harassment, intimidation and disinformation for the apparent purposes of avoiding scrutiny of their business practices and discussion on the health and safety of their products.

Since the Report’s publication, Medical Marijuana Inc. and its subsidiary HempMeds PX filed suit against Project CBD and others for Libel, Trade Libel, False Light, Negligence and Intentional Interference with Prospective Business Advantage. The suit absurdly alleges that MJNA suffered in excess of $100 million dollars in damages as a result of the Project CBD Special Report, and accuses Project CBD director Martin A. Lee, writer Aaron Miguel Cantu and others of “knowingly, maliciously and willfully conspir[ing] . . . to injure” MJNA.

Medical Marijuana Inc.’s claims are as grandiose as they are inaccurate.

The Project CBD Report (pp. 17-19) discussed the conflicting test results produced by Stewart: “The initial results appeared to confirm [that] the RSHO contained high levels of several heavy metals, including nickel, selenium, molybdenum, arsenic, and silver. A few days later, Stewart Environmental Consultants issued a second report that contradicted its earlier findings: Five numbers, all pertaining to heavy metal toxins, were changed from unsafe to safe levels.”

Contrary to Medical Marijuana Inc.’s assertion, Project CBD accurately reported Stewart’s second set of test results purporting to correct its original findings.

Project CBD also accurately reported that two other independent labs, including a DEA- and FDA-registered facility, found significant levels of toxic solvents in other RSHO samples that were never tested by Stewart. Medical Marijuana Inc. neglected to mention these lab results in its lawsuit.

Yesterday, Project CBD’s attorney filed an anti-SLAPP motion seeking dismissal of Medical Marijuana Inc.’s lawsuit on First Amendment grounds. As attorney Tyler R. Andrews of Greenberg Traurig, LLP stated in the motion: “This is precisely the type of lawsuit that California’s anti-SLAPP statue was enacted to prevent. Medical Marijuana, Inc. is trying to bury any public criticism of its business practices and quash any debate over the health and safety of its products. The claims [against Project CBD] represent an abuse of the legal process and must be stricken.”